Kelsall Clergy

This identifies the following based on a search for Kelsall and some variant spellings.

Some of these can be identified in lists of Cambridge and Oxford alumni available online:

Cambridge

Oxford

Most of these clergymen can be linked to trees or histories included elsewhere on this site.

At least four clergy on the list are related to the James Kelsall of Audley tree. William Kelsall was Vicar of Audley from 1592 (when he succeeded his father-in-law, Andrew Beech) to 1619, and in 1646 when he was ejected by the Parliamentary Committee together with his son John who was also his curate. John Kelsall succeeded his father as Vicar in 1649; Cambridge alumni records show that he was the same person listed in the clergy database as curate of Leek in 1665. Richard Kelsall, deacon/curate at Barthomley and Haslington about 1705-1716 was a great grandson of William. (There are some discrepancies in dates between dates from the clergy data base and my research; I believe William died in 1649.)

A fourth member of the Audley family, John Kelsall was grandson of William Kelsall. He was Curate of Audley 1665, vicar of Cheswardine, Shropshire 1666-1676 and Vicar at Quarrington, Lincolnshire 1684 to 1689. His son Edward Kelsall was Curate at Boston, Lincolnshire 1700, and Vicar at Boston 1702-1719. This family is described further in the Scott tree.

Theophilus Kelsall, listed in the clergy database as Curate of Prescot St Helens 1716, and Vicar of Childwall 1722-1735. From the research of Helen Kelsall Wilson, The Rev. Kelsall was the son of Theophilus Kelsall of Stapleford, Cheshire. Rev. Kelsall was educated at Cambridge, B.A. 1710. He was aged 16 in 1707 and died in February 1734. There is a monument to Theophilus Kelsall in the Church of All Saints, West Derby. Stapleford Hall is near Tarvin, about 4 miles from the village of Kelsall. He married Anne Wareing in 1717 and had children John, Phebe and Mary. The Theophilus buried in Chester in 1721 may be the father.

John Kelsall was Rector at St Helen’s Pinxton, Derbyshire from 1670 to 1686. He may be the same John Kelsall, who was a preacher Ashbourne (Derbyshire) in 1662, Hathersage (1662) and Vicar of Mayfield (Staffordshire). Research presented here shows that John was the brother of Roger (discussed below) and that they were from Etchells, Cheshire (now part of Cheadle).

Roger Kelsall, Chaplain at Smallburgh (Norfolk) 1662 and Roger Kelsall, Vicar of Wormingford (Essex) 1664-1684 are the same person. The Clergy Index first identifies Roger as chaplain at Smallburgh, but the detail page shows Smallbridge, Suffolk. Since Smallbridge is adjacent geographically to Wormingford this seems to be the right connection. The record show that Roger was Chaplain to Thomas Waldegrave, Esq. and tutor to his children.

The record for Wormingford shows that Roger was ordained 22 March 1661, and he was Vicar of Wormingford 20 January 1663 to 21 July 1684. From other sources, Roger Kelsall was buried 23 June 1692.

Notes for Roger in the Cambridge alumni on line say that he was admitted to Cambridge 1659, “of Cheshire”, perhaps lecturer at Ashbourne and father of another Roger, admitted to Cambridge 1698, and expelled from college after he joined the Quakers. From other research we know that the younger Roger was in fact the nephew of the elder. The reference to Ashbourne may be a confusion with the John Kelsall described above. This is discussed further here.

Robert Kelsall, Rector Reydon, Southwold Chapel (Suffolk) 1683-1744. Note: one record shows Rector 1683 to 1744, but another record only shows 1683 and lists three others as Rector after Robert before 1744. Is this a confusion with Roger?

Thomas Kelsall, Curate of Chale in 1541 may have been related to Henry Kelsall of Reading. Chale is on the Isle of Wight, Hampshire. Henry who died in about 1494 had property interests on the Isle of Wight, and elsewhere in Hampshire. His children’s names are not known but he had a nephew Thomas.

At this point I have limited information regarding two entries from the clergy database:

Humphrey Kelsall, was a schoolmaster at St Martin in the Fields, London in 1675. Humphrey is a repeated name in the Bradshaw tree, but I cannot make a connection.

Joseph Kelsall, Vicar/rector, Tarvin, 1679-1680

Not in the clergy database, another John Kelsall was active in Quaker circles in the late 17th C and early 18th C. John was one of the two brothers born to John and Elizabeth Kelsall (nee Cragg) in the Covent Garden district of London. John was born 8 September 1683, and Joseph, 9 September 1684. After the parents died the boys were taken by their grandmother to Querndalenear Lancaster as told in detail here. John was sent to schools at Abbeystead and Lancaster and to the Quaker Schools at Yealand and Penketh near Warrington (one of the ‘Dissenting Academies’). On completing his education John became a schoolmaster at Dolobran in Wales before moving to work in Coalbrookdale in Shropshire. Then, as a clerk to the famous Quaker ironmaster, Abraham Darby, he moved to Dolgellau in Merionethshire. Later, he reportedly “fell into adversity, and after wandering to Bristol and to Ireland, is last heard of at Chester”. He may be the John Kelsall of Boughton buried Newton 1743 ages about 60 (recorded in Society of Friends (Quaker) Burials).